Wear Yellow Proudly And Liberty City Arts Present Tea With Tang And Song

Wear Yellow Proudly and Liberty City Arts will present Tea with Tang and Song, a narrated art song recital exploring the poetry and stories of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties.

The recital features Helen Zhibing Huang, soprano, Aaron Scarberry, tenor, and Ting Ting Wong, piano. Performances will take place on Saturday, February 28 at 6 p.m. and Sunday, March 1 at 3 p.m. at the Philadelphia Ethical Society. Pre-show tea will precede each performance. General admission is $30.

Tea with Tang and Song pairs musical settings of ancient Chinese poetry with spoken narration that provides historical context and cultural insight, including the "tea"-the gossip, intrigue, and lived realities behind official records. The program features art song settings by composers including Huang Tzu, Qing Zhu, Ma Sicong, and living composers Lingbo Ma and Cynthia Lee Wong. Structured chronologically, the recital moves through major periods of the Tang and Song dynasties, tracing how poetry responded to shifting power, romance, scandal, exile, and cultural brilliance across six centuries.

Each group of songs is introduced with narration that shares political events, social pressures, and notable personal histories surrounding the poems, while also highlighting powerful women, artistic elegance, courtly intrigue, and the flourishing of art, music, and nightlife.

Through figures such as Wang Bo, Li Yu, and Li Qingzhao, the program reveals how poetic voices adapted to changing historical realities, and why these works continue to resonate today.

"This concert continues Wear Yellow Proudly's mission to widen the scope of what is considered classical art song and advances our goal to share and broaden recognition of Asian language art song for the appreciation and consumption of all music lovers," Alice Chung, the Artistic Director of Wear Yellow Proudly, said. "Given the melting pot that is Philadelphia, and our nation, our program also reflects how people have long gathered around tea as a shared social and cultural tradition."

"Tea with Tang & Song furthers LCA's goal of celebrating Philadelphia's cultural diversity," said Samual Keeler, Executive Director of Liberty City Arts. "Through concerts like this, LCA explores connections between different musical traditions and their power to entertain, build community, and create meaningful impact."